A small airplane collided with a vehicle as it made an emergency landing on Interstate 75 in southwest Florida Friday afternoon, bringing traffic to a halt as a massive plume of black smoke rose into the air, authorities said.
The crash landing happened near the Pine Ridge Road exit in Collier County, just north of where the interstate heads east toward Fort Lauderdale along what is known as Alligator Alley.
Brianna Walker, 26, witnessed as the wing of the plane dragged the car in front of hers and slammed into the wall.
“It’s seconds that separated us from the car in front of us,” she said. “The wing pulverized this one car.”
Walker and her friend saw the plane moments before it hit the highway, allowing her friend to pull over before the crash.
“The plane was over our heads by inches,” she said. “It took a hard right and skid across the highway.”
Walker said an explosion of flames then burst from the plane with a loud boom. Pieces of the plane littered the highway.
“It feels unreal like a movie,” she said. “It was seconds between us dying.”
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Bombardier Challenger 600 jet with five people aboard. The crash happened about 3:15 p.m., the agency said. It was not immediately known whether there were fatalities or injuries among those aboard the plane or anyone on the busy interstate.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation.
The Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release that the southbound lanes of the interstate were closed and advised motorists to seek alternate routes. A photo captured by the Florida Department of Transportation showed a huge plume of black smoke rising from the plane.